February 2022 (ROTM #158) Mystics (Minnamurra) Beach, NSW Australia

Yes, it’s another picture of a beach and rip current from New South Wales. Well, it is where I live and like many of us on the planet, I haven’t gone anywhere in 2 years! At least beaches in NSW have a plethora of rips and rip types to explore.

This was simply a stunning magic day just before Christmas this year. Probably the last we had before our La Nina summer kicked in with a vengeance. But I digress. Known as ‘Mystics’ to surfers, but officially Minnamurra, this beach is situated not that far south of Wollongong and is sort of at the gateway to the South Coast of NSW. It’s also situated at the south end of Killalea State Park which once was a bit of a locals secret, but now is surrounded by suburbia – it’s a bizarre drive in that has to be experienced to be fully appreciated. Killalea is mostly famous for the National Surfing Reserve at ‘The Farm’, but Mystics is a gem that can only be accessed by a ten minute bush path.

Not only is the beach mystical, it’s also unpatrolled by lifeguards and rip-prone. This picture is taken from beach level at low tide and there’s a nice little channel rip straight in front – yep, it’s the dark gap. It’s not very deep at low tide, you could stand in it without getting in any trouble, but with slightly greater water depths, it really started to move and you’d quickly find yourself out beyond the breaking waves if you weren’t paying attention. So always pay attention at the beach! Think about rips and beach safety. Look for dark gaps and remember: white is nice, green is mean!

There it is…the dark gap.